Beginning January 12, teachers, parents, and students across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the third annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

·Effective Leaders

·Collaborative Teachers

·Involved Families

·Supportive Environments

·Ambitious Instruction

Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.

All teachers and 6th through 12th grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and districts in May 2015 and will also be included in the State School Report Card.

Additionally, your district has chosen to provide the optional 5Essentials parent survey. If at least 20 percent of Lincoln School parents complete this survey, a parent supplement will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card.

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view 2014 Reports, please visit https://illinois.5-essentials.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or 5essentials@uchicago.edu.

Lincoln was awarded an Illinois Spotlight School Award for 2012!

This is the 7th time in 8 years Lincoln has earned this award. To be chosen for this award schools must have:

Made Adequate Yearly Progress for the last two years, as required by No Child Left Behind.

At least 60% of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics.

At least half of the students enrolled are classified as low-income students.